The Tank… Last year on this date, the Lakers had just lost their eighth straight game. Scott was lamenting how they played good defense in practice but not in games. The tank was well underway. Rewind two more years on this date and D’Antoni was coach, and, yes, we were talking about the tank after a loss.

That’s our reality once again … for the fourth year now.

At this point you can pretty much chalk up a loss when you’re talking about facing the better teams in the league. The Lakers seemed to assume the position and their fate.

“It felt a little dead in the locker room,” Luke said of the pregame atmosphere.

The Spurs ran a clinic in the first half with 20 assists and a 20-point lead. While they executed with precision, the Lakers were sloppy on the other end. Luke didn’t like the competitive spirit in the first half.

“If you’re not going to compete, you’re not going to give yourselves a chance,” he said.

The Spurs ended up with 37 assists as the Lakers shuffled through lineups and extended garbage time on their way to the 119-98 loss. Brandon Ingram, at least, went for a new career high with 22 points.

Russell -- -- “We didn’t’ get as many stops as we wanted to start the game so it kind of got out of hand early,” Russell said. Spurs just executed with ease and little disruption for the Lakers. Not thrilled with the rotation in this one. Luke sat him early in the second half and brought him back late after a long rest. That seemed like a benching of sorts. Russell reeled in some of the shot selection from the previous game. Offensively, some of our timing was off, whether it was finding the open man right when he got open or even finding Russell right when he would be ready (his lone post opportunity was blown because of that). I would have liked to see him in the post just a little more against the smaller Spurs guards when we had those matchups. When Russell played with Ennis in the fourth quarter, he’ll likely being a little more off ball, but needs to make sure he’s not getting too passive because of pressure to pass the ball. Stay aggressive, keep the D scrambling. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-16 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He let Parker get to the middle of the screen and that led to a lob dunk to start (adjustment next time down and we got the stop on the same sequence). He missed a pull-up jumper (looked fouled). Bad timing on the lob to Black when the help didn’t commit, turnover. His man went under the screen, he missed the three. He hit Randle on the two-man game for the score in the paint. He swished a baseline pull-up working off the Black screen. He splashed a wing three in early offense when the D sagged off. He swished an elbow pull-up working off the high screen. He missed a three trying to beat the shotclock. He might have blocked a Parker jumper. He hit the side of the board on a bank. He swished a pull-up instead from the same area next time down. He missed a putback bank. He had 9 points on 4-9 shooting, 3 boards and 3 assists with 1 turnover. Second Half: He swished a pull-up at the FT line working off the screen in early offense. He drained a wing pull-up off a high screen after the inbounds. He missed a midrange jumper. He had the ball poked away from behind for a breakaway dunk. He missed a catch-and-shoot sideline three. He sank a wing three on the same possession. Pressure D forced his man into a turnover. He had a mismatch, iso’d and swished the long wing jumper. He missed a three on a kickout from Ennis. Late on a post entry, turnover.

Randle -- -- “We just didn’t compete,” Randle said. The Spurs were giving him a lot of space today. Randle, of course, has three typical options when that happens: Take up the space off the dribble and then try to score; run out to the perimeter for quick kickbacks or dribble handoffs; or take the open shot. He had no confidence in taking the jumper in this one, even looking like he lacked confidence at the freethrow line all game. Not a pretty game offensively, but he was doing other things. He outmuscled guys again and again on the glass and pushing tempo when he could. When the ball stopped in his hands in this game, it was usually because he was looking to pass to guys coming off screens, but the Spurs D made that difficult and the Lakers screen setting wasn’t great. In fact, Luke brought that up after the game. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-9 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-6 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 4 assists, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He missed a floater in the lane to start. He got tapped on a good looking wing three. He banked in a one-hander off the two-man game with Randle. He threw a pass away trying to thread it through a crowd. He faced up at the elbow out of a timeout and traveled, turnover. Way short on the 10-footer when the D sagged off him. He missed a short one in the paint. He pushed out with speed, lost a defender but came up short on a floater that he wanted a foul on. Second Half: After missing Ingram earlier in the quarter on a bust out, Randle found Young leaking out for the dunk. Nice D on Aldridge to force an airball on one end, but he was stripped off his knee in transition on the other for the turnover. He dunked back in a missed three. He was fouled on the break and made one FT. He was fouled on the defensive glass for FTs, he made one again. He out-muscled Lee under the hoop for an offensive board and more FTs, he missed both this time. He nearly rattled down a hanging three at the buzzer.

Ingram -- -- Career high scoring night for Ingram as he finally cracked the 20-point mark. Show me that again, please! He had his hands full defensively trying to cover Kawhi, who was killing the Lakers right out of the gates. “I think he gave me a wakeup call in the first half,” Ingram said. Kawhi had 16 in the first quarter before Ingram sat. Ingram ended up in foul trouble and had his minutes cut a little short in that first half. Despite that (and Brandon said because of that), he battled hard in the second half. Ingram didn’t like how much space he gave Kawhi (see how Brewer covered him). “I thought Brandon did a great job of staying engaged and embracing that challenge and stepping up his own game,” Luke said. He was attacking under control and with purpose. He was getting contact on defenders and scoring through that. “It looked to me like he was shooting them with more confidence,” Luke said of Ingram’s shot. That helps, but I think just all the minutes he’s gotten and how much he’s learned about what he can and can’t do should build over time into more games like this. In the last game, he had the posterizing lob dunk. Today, he had a massive cram over Pau on a baseline attack. He’s finally playing above the rim with more consistency. He mentioned how Kawhi is a model for him in that he’s comfortable in every shot he takes and attacks the same way. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 10-15 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 turnovers, 1 block and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He dribbled to the baseline and hit a face-up jumper. Good challenge on a three to get a stop. Put in the popcorn machine and he gave up FTs on a jumper. He lost the handle trying to create and fumbled it out of bounds, turnover. He worked the smaller defender and hit the short turnaround in the lane. He curled into the lane and scored high off the glass with his left. Stiff arm to the smaller Mills, offensive foul and he had to sit with 3. Second Half: Busted play, he tried to create on iso and we opened the half with a turnover. He blocked a shot under the rim. Quick attack from the three line, he elevated over Pau and hammered. He missed an open three trailing the break. He picked up his fourth foul on Kawhi’s drive with 3:21 left in the third. He got Pau on a mismatch and blew past him for the easy score. He swished a one-footed pull-up in the lane. He attacked through the contact from Manu while tucking the ball in and hit the And-1 across the lane, he made the FT. He got his man on his hip on the sideline, kept him there then hit the step back. He missed the pull-up at the top of the key. Way short on an open corner three. He attacked the paint and couldn’t finish in a crowd, got it back under the hoop and scored the layup for his new career high. He missed a wing three. Nice challenge on a drive to get a stop. He drained a corner three in early offense.

Black -- -- Luke went to Robinson in the second quarter instead of back to Black. Another slow start for Tarik with little of that energy and impact that he had been giving lately. If he’s not able to bring that, Robinson will. In game where guys are getting called out for not competing early, Black certainly didn’t leave a strong impact or impose himself on the game. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 2-2 shooting from the line to go with 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He sank an And-1 with a toe on the three line off the kickback from Black, he made the FT. His offensive board led to a Russell three. He drew FTs on the screen-roll with Young, he made both.

Young -- -- Luke mentioned the screen setting being a problem in this game. That will probably impact Young as much as any of our PGs. He needs that in order to be freed up consistently. He sank one three tonight but wasn’t much of a factor. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (1-4 form three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 turnover and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He sank a wing three in transition. He missed a pull-up 21-footer, not a good look. He picked up his dribble then threw it away in early offense. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He dunked off a leak out on a miss. He missed an open wing three. He missed a corner three. He missed a wing three. He hit Black rolling for FTs.

Clarkson -- -- Aggressive game from Clarkson, relentlessly attacking for floaters and short ones in the paint. He could have moved the ball a little more, for sure, as the coaches wanted him to be more of playmaker, but that didn’t happen. There was a point in the second quarter where we had just 2 assists but 9 turnovers. Chemistry will be tough to come by with all the changes right now in the roster. We missed that defensive activity that disrupted things in the last game and allowed the team to change ends for easy scores. Hard to criticize too much about that on D as the Spurs are finely tuned. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-16 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He missed a floater in early offense. He attacked full court, controlled spin around the D, and he scored the layup. He rejected the screen and attacked down the middle of the lane for the score. He missed a wing three to start the quarter. He hit an off-balance floater in the lane. He cut down the lane off the Nance post and slammed off the pass. He set up Zubac for a layup off the two-man game. He missed a layup off a couple long strides in early offense. Might have gotten away with a travel after picking up his dribble in the lane, but he was able to feed Robinson for the layup. He missed a baseline jumper. He pushed out past one defender but couldn’t score past the other. His kickout was picked off. Wild baseline drive, not close. He scored 8 points on 4-10 shooting. Second Half: He swished a wing three on his first touch. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a floater on a give and go. He curled into the lane to his left and hit the floater the next time. He ran clock, called for the screen, coughed it up on the attack for an uncontested layup the other way. He broke his man off the dribble and scored the lefty layup. He posted up and was fouled on the jumphook over a double team. Horrible lob pass on the break after waiting too long. He broke down the D in early offense and hit the running hook in the paint.

Nance – -- So remember back to the last game where Larry was tipping out offensive boards, blocking shots and imposing his athleticism on the game? I brought that up because he shows you games like that, then shows you games like this one where he’s pretty invisible. He just didn’t play with the same gear and effort as in the last one. That’s the challenge for him and these last two games show a massive difference in impact for when he’s imposing his will on a game and when he isn’t. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and no fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He missed a jumphook, too hard. He was rejected by Pau on a floater. He hit a cutting Clarkson for the uncontested slam. He sank a baseline jumper off the two-man game with Deng. He missed an 18-footer. Second Half: His pass was picked off for points the other way. He missed an open wing jumper short.

Zubac -- -- Our C spot was pretty ineffective in this one but I’m a bit irked at Luke subbing him out after just two minutes of action in the second half before bringing him back later for some garbage run. Just get him the minutes. He’s going to make mistakes. In a sure blowout, you should just give him the run. No reason not to at that point. Just 2 points from him tonight and little impact. This is par for the course for young teams. You’re youth just won’t be consistent and you’ll lose games. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper, short. He telegraphed a bounce pass, turnover. He altered Pau’s shot at the rim. He was fouled trying to power up on the break, he missed both FTs. He was called for a moving screen, turnover. Nice catch on the screen-roll with Clarkson and he scored the layup. Second Half: He got lost to start the quarter and gave up a lob dunk. He missed a hook in the lane. He swatted a slow drive to the hoop.

Deng -- -- His fourth scoreless game of the season. Pretty much a ghost offensively. His attempt from three was way flat, like early in the season. He battled on D and did help in that regard, but quiet…so quiet. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. Horrible pass out of a timeout, right to a Spur, turnover. Second Half: He missed a wide open three, way short.

Brewer -- -- Ingram picked up three fouls in the first half, so Luke went to Brewer, who had to take on the Kawhi challenge. His approach was to aggressively harass him and that helped slow that down a bit. He was very active on D, which was much needed in this game. He also sank his only attempt from three. I wish his salary was about half what it is because we certainly have a need for a guy who mixes it up on D and changes ends quickly. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: Nice challenge on Kawhi in the post. He swished an open corner three. Second Half: He tied up Pau in the post trying to steal the ball. He pushed out the rebound, took it the distance but couldn’t finish. He swiped a pass on the other end. He changed directions, attacked and was blocked at the rim. He attacked in early offense and drew FTs.

Ennis -- -- He hasn’t learned the sets yet but said he’s just trying to push the ball when he can. He came in for some garbage-time run in the fourth quarter. He had a nice feed to Robinson for a slam, he hit a jumphook across the lane and swished a three. Some good moments, but garbage time and the team was still trying to get used to each other. Prior to the game, he mentioned that he and Clarkson were friends from before basketball when they used to watch their brothers compete. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He worked the two-man game and hit Robinson with the pocket pass for the jam. He probed, spun in the lane and hit the short jumphook. Not close on a corner three. He iso’d and swished a three from the top of the arc.

Robinson -- -- He came in midway through the second quarter. His first minutes in a month. “I just try to stay in shape the best I can,” he said. Shortly after entering, he had a monster putback slam off a Clarkson miss. He was just a -1 in that first half 7-minute stint as the Lakers had their only offensive boards of the half during that stretch. He got more minutes in the second half where he was a +3. He led the Lakers on the offensive glass and also in steals with 4 of each. That’s what we were missing from the rest of our team today – that battle and fight. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-7 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 2 turnovers, 4 steals and no fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He scored a layup off the setup from Clarkson. He crashed the glass and slammed down the miss. Easy tip in after he got Mills switched on him under the hoop. He stepped in front of his man in the post for the steal. He pulled up and missed a FT jumper on the other end. Second Half: He missed a reverse jam, stole it back, was blocked, got it back and was stripped for a layup the other way. He slammed off the two-man game with Ennis. He overpowered his man on the glass and missed an easy And-1 putback, he made one FT. He threw a pass away.

Walton -- -- Spurs gave a lot of space to Randle to start, allowing them to plug the lane. Lakers a little sloppy with the execution and they trailed 13-7 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Black picked up his second foul with 5 minutes left just as Zubac was coming in, Clarkson in for Young. Lakers down 5. Kawhi with 12… Luke called a timeout shortly later down 10… Nance in for Randle, Deng in for Russell, still down 10… Nick back in for Ingram… A timeout by Luke now down 34-18 with a minute left… The Lakers trailed 36-20 after the first quarter. Spurs had 14 assists, Lakers 2… Some better D to start the second quarter with the Zubac, Nance, Deng, Young, Clarkson unit and the Lakers forced a timeout down 12… Luke called a timeout as the Lakers continued the sloppy ball on both ends. They trailed by 19 after 5 minutes… Robinson and Randle in for Nance and Zubac. Russell and Ingram in for Young and Deng… The Lakers trailed 61-41 at the half… Lakers down 20 still, he sat Russell for Clarkson… Same separation with Black sitting for Nance and Brewer in for Young… A 23-2 advantage on points off turnovers for Spurs at this point… They trailed 96-70 to start the fourth… Zubac, Nance, Ingram, Brewer, Clarkson in… Deng in for Nance after a couple minutes… He sat Zubac after only a couple minutes, uggh. Let the kid get some run in a blowout, please… Luke called a timeout a couple minutes later as the suckage still continued… He sat Ingram for Ennis… He brought back Russell, finally, for Clarkson with 7 minutes left. Long rest… Ingram and Zubac back in midway through the quarter for Deng and Brewer... Extended garbage time…

for my only game this season and going in expecting (knowing?) it would be a loss, we had a good time.

ingram seemed to shoot great, clarkson too, i liked what i saw of robinson. it didn't seem like the lakers weren't trying or sabotaging themselves but they were effectively beaten by the 6 minute mark of first quarter, maybe sooner.

san antonio is just so deep and pau had a great game afaic. kawhi is excellent and ginobli/parker defy father time.

if someone gave me lakers tickets for the remainder of the season, i doubt i'd go to another game. this franchise is just too toxic right now.

will check back in during the summer if they've landed a free agent, but until then i'll be rooting for the spurs to win the west and the lob trophy_________________Final moments 2010 NBA Finals Game 7: https://youtu.be/wouG1HR098g

"I don't know if we'd won this game without these fans. Thank you!" - Phil Jackson after Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, 6/17/10 http://vimeo.com/12680157 (4th Q + Postgame)

Hope Black is not getting too comfortable now that he is a starter. We need his energy especially on defense and on the glass giving us extra possessions with offensive rebounds like he used to._________________https://youtu.be/sX7vRertYQs

At this point you can pretty much chalk up a loss when you’re talking about facing the better teams in the league. The Lakers seemed to assume the position and their fate.

Getting used to losing is a bad sign

DancingBarry wrote:

“If you’re not going to compete, you’re not going to give yourselves a chance,” he said.

Which player is going to demand accountability?

DancingBarry wrote:

Russell - “We didn’t’ get as many stops as we wanted to start the game so it kind of got out of hand early,” Russell said.

Since it is the same problem, when will players try to change

DancingBarry wrote:

Randle -- -- “We just didn’t compete,”

Big Problem.

DancingBarry wrote:

Ingram He’s finally playing above the rim with more consistency. He mentioned how Kawhi is a model for him in that he’s comfortable in every shot he takes and attacks the same way.

Great to learn from the best - along with others such as Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Greek the Freak and Klay Thompson

DancingBarry wrote:

Black - If he’s not able to bring that, Robinson will.

Agree

DancingBarry wrote:

Young - Luke mentioned the screen setting being a problem in this game. That will probably impact Young as much as any of our PGs.

Recognition that Swaggy cannot create on his own

DancingBarry wrote:

Clarkson - There was a point in the second quarter where we had just 2 assists but 9 turnovers.

Not placing a high importance on each possession?

DancingBarry wrote:

Nance – That’s the challenge for him and these last two games show a massive difference in impact for when he’s imposing his will on a game and when he isn’t.

[quote="DancingBarry"Zubac - Just get him the minutes. He’s going to make mistakes. [/quote]Confusing since Black and Nance were ineffective

DancingBarry wrote:

Deng - Pretty much a ghost offensively. . but quiet…so quiet.

Where is the leadership

DancingBarry wrote:

Brewer - He was very active on D, which was much needed in this game.

Someone actually played D?

DancingBarry wrote:

Robinson - That’s what we were missing from the rest of our team today – that battle and fight.

Seems like the team is tired and looking forward to the end of the season. Maybe Luke will allow them to get their rest sitting next to him and Magic will allow them to rest on another team's bench next season.

Our bench is not effective anymore without Lou. Also great game from Ingram.
Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

I would never play him at SG especially if he's not generating his points from the greatest strength in his game right now, which is in the post guard by smaller guards.

The Warriors do run post ups for Thompson, Livingston and Durant._________________SAY NO TO LEBRON!!!

Our bench is not effective anymore without Lou. Also great game from Ingram.
Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

I would never play him at SG especially if he's not generating his points from the greatest strength in his game right now, which is in the post guard by smaller guards.

The Warriors do run post ups for Thompson, Livingston and Durant.

Why do you act like you even foresee him being a dominant player in the future? I've never read you post a single positive thing about him.

I would ever say "Games like these make me question JC being a dominant player in the future" because I don't think he'll ever be dominant. I imagine the same thing is true for you, which makes me wonder the intention of your post._________________https://j.gifs.com/Rnqnbk.gif

Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

What on earth happened in this game in particular that prompts you to say that?

DLO is a talented player

Is DLO the Floor General or an invaluable combo guard - it appears to be the latter. Having players performing roles that does not utilizes his greatest strengths would be a bad decision.

Refreshing that Ingram admitted that he was worked over by Kawhi and was mad enough to comeback with a lot of fire.

When the same faults have been identified and utilized as the reasons/excuses with nobody being mad enough to do something - there is a leadership gap. As Luke shared, the greatest sin is the effort and focus that has been evident throughout this season.

Our bench is not effective anymore without Lou. Also great game from Ingram.
Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

I would never play him at SG especially if he's not generating his points from the greatest strength in his game right now, which is in the post guard by smaller guards.

The Warriors do run post ups for Thompson, Livingston and Durant.

Why do you act like you even foresee him being a dominant player in the future? I've never read you post a single positive thing about him.

I would ever say "Games like these make me question JC being a dominant player in the future" because I don't think he'll ever be dominant. I imagine the same thing is true for you, which makes me wonder the intention of your post.

If you've been reading my posts you'd clearly see that I'm fed up with Russell. I would have traded him with Deng or Mosgov for cap relief. I'm not hiding that fact at all, as I did mention it before. There's a correlation between his 3 point shooting and games going well for the Lakers; and in my opinion his shot is not consistent enough for me to trust that. If he was bringing other things at a high level like defense, 7 APG, avoiding momentum killing turnovers, athleticism or inside scoring, I'd have no issues. It all stems from his "too cool for school" approach to the game. Also, Kobe and Magic would have never been outplayed by Lillard on an off night. Don't give me that crap that I can't compare him to them, this is a number 2 overall pick in his 2nd year playing for the Lakers. As Laker fans we don't accept anything less than hall of fame talent, and if it's not here, we trade our mediocre assets for said talent.
Also, I don't speak about JC because he's a bench player and deservingly so, I'm disappointed in his defensive habits more so than anybody else's. He had his chance to show what he's got and gave nothing. Offensively he needs to work on finishing angles around the rim.
On the other hand loved the fight from Ingram, he's definitely going to be a hall of famer.
Anyway, this may be one of the last times I'm posting for season because uni is about to get back into full swing. Thanks again DB for the recap. Enjoy the rest of the season LG, and let's hope that we'd never have to tank again because it's depressing._________________SAY NO TO LEBRON!!!

Our bench is not effective anymore without Lou. Also great game from Ingram.
Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

I would never play him at SG especially if he's not generating his points from the greatest strength in his game right now, which is in the post guard by smaller guards.

The Warriors do run post ups for Thompson, Livingston and Durant.

Why do you act like you even foresee him being a dominant player in the future? I've never read you post a single positive thing about him.

I would ever say "Games like these make me question JC being a dominant player in the future" because I don't think he'll ever be dominant. I imagine the same thing is true for you, which makes me wonder the intention of your post.

If you've been reading my posts you'd clearly see that I'm fed up with Russell. I would have traded him with Deng or Mosgov for cap relief. I'm not hiding that fact at all, as I did mention it before. There's a correlation between his 3 point shooting and games going well for the Lakers; and in my opinion his shot is not consistent enough for me to trust that. If he was bringing other things at a high level like defense, 7 APG, avoiding momentum killing turnovers, athleticism or inside scoring, I'd have no issues. It all stems from his "too cool for school" approach to the game. Also, Kobe and Magic would have never been outplayed by Lillard on an off night. Don't give me that crap that I can't compare him to them, this is a number 2 overall pick in his 2nd year playing for the Lakers. As Laker fans we don't accept anything less than hall of fame talent, and if it's not here, we trade our mediocre assets for said talent.
Also, I don't speak about JC because he's a bench player and deservingly so, I'm disappointed in his defensive habits more so than anybody else's. He had his chance to show what he's got and gave nothing. Offensively he needs to work on finishing angles around the rim.
On the other hand loved the fight from Ingram, he's definitely going to be a hall of famer.
Anyway, this may be one of the last times I'm posting for season because uni is about to get back into full swing. Thanks again DB for the recap. Enjoy the rest of the season LG, and let's hope that we'd never have to tank again because it's depressing.

I know you dislike Russell. That was my point. In your original post, you said "Games like this make me question Russell being dominant." I thought that phrasing was peculiar given your stated dislike of him. I wouldn't post that "Games like this make me question JC being dominant" because I similarly don't consider that a possibility for him to begin with._________________https://j.gifs.com/Rnqnbk.gif

Our bench is not effective anymore without Lou. Also great game from Ingram.
Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

I would never play him at SG especially if he's not generating his points from the greatest strength in his game right now, which is in the post guard by smaller guards.

The Warriors do run post ups for Thompson, Livingston and Durant.

Why do you act like you even foresee him being a dominant player in the future? I've never read you post a single positive thing about him.

I would ever say "Games like these make me question JC being a dominant player in the future" because I don't think he'll ever be dominant. I imagine the same thing is true for you, which makes me wonder the intention of your post.

As Laker fans we don't accept anything less than hall of fame talent, and if it's not here, we trade our mediocre assets for said talent.

Yeaaaaaah ummm you might want to follow another team for about the next 3 or 4 years cause I hate to be the one to tell you this but I don't foresee this being much different for us until around about the beginning of the next decade.

Just saw the replay.......sooo I guess Magic told BI its ok to drive to the rim and dunk it!....you would think the kid would know that. Only other thought....Randle gave me reason to believe earlier in the season, now I think like DLo he's a bust also, headcase._________________what sound does it make when you hit the front of the rim?............."Deng!"

Our bench is not effective anymore without Lou. Also great game from Ingram.
Games like these makes me question DLO being a dominant player in the future. When you're the 2nd pick, dominance is expected.

I would never play him at SG especially if he's not generating his points from the greatest strength in his game right now, which is in the post guard by smaller guards.

The Warriors do run post ups for Thompson, Livingston and Durant.

Why do you act like you even foresee him being a dominant player in the future? I've never read you post a single positive thing about him.

I would ever say "Games like these make me question JC being a dominant player in the future" because I don't think he'll ever be dominant. I imagine the same thing is true for you, which makes me wonder the intention of your post.

As Laker fans we don't accept anything less than hall of fame talent, and if it's not here, we trade our mediocre assets for said talent.

Yeaaaaaah ummm you might want to follow another team for about the next 3 or 4 years cause I hate to be the one to tell you this but I don't foresee this being much different for us until around about the beginning of the next decade.

I'm never jumping ship and bandwagoning, that’s the type of attitude expected from "fans" of other team. Something needs to be done so that the Lakers could contend for championships soon or there's going to be an even larger issue.
We need a team that will attract free agents, building through the draft alone is not enough because the guys we drafted don't fit all that well together. I'm just hoping that the Lakers FO see that Ingram is going to be the cornerstone and that the team eventually is built around him. Also I'd say if Ball is on the Lakers, Russell needs to be traded. His best NBA position is at the point, he'd be a less than mediocre SG. I've said many times as Russell is on the roster, I hope he turns it around fully, so that many die-hard fans like me would stop having these feelings about him. I supported Russell 100% through the Scott year but I noticed that some of his habits can be cancerous regardless of the who's coaching._________________SAY NO TO LEBRON!!!